Curriculum & Assessment
Our Curriculum
Curriculum Intent Statement
We have designed our curriculum with the following main goals in mind:
- To encourage pupils to become ambitious, curious learners who can make a positive contribution to the school and local community.
- To develop pupils’ skills and knowledge by providing a coherent, progressive curriculum.
- To build rich ‘cultural capital’
- To ensure learning experiences are memorable and aid long-term retention
- To develop word power among our pupils so they are well equipped with a wide range of vocabulary
1. School values
Our school values and aims underpin our curriculum and strongly contribute to pupils receiving an effective education that enables them to achieve highly. Our knowledge engaged approach to learning promotes communication, problem solving and creativity.
We have an inclusive curriculum where every child is recognised as a unique individual. We adapt the curriculum for different groups of children, including disadvantaged pupils and those with EAL and SEND.
We welcome and celebrate differences and strive to ensure pupil’s wellbeing and safety is implicit in all that we do. Children learn to be respectful towards others, build self-esteem and confidence in their abilities and draw on each other’s strengths.
2. Progressive framework of skills and knowledge
When developing the schools curriculum, we decide on the ‘important knowledge’ and ‘key vocabulary’ that pupils should learn. We build upon prior knowledge and make links to prior learning. This leads to a vertical accumulation of skills and knowledge. Lessons are carefully sequenced to ensure that learning is revisited, deepened and used as a basis to acquire new learning. Appropriate experiences are planned to aid understanding and move the learning from the short to the long term memory. We believe our curriculum provides appropriate depth, breadth and balance tailored to our children’s’ specific needs and interests.
3. Cultural capital
Every child and family who joins Stillness has their own knowledge and experiences that will link to their culture and wider family. This might include; languages, beliefs, traditions, cultural and family heritage and interests. Cultural capital is the accumulation of knowledge, behaviours and skills that a child can draw upon, which demonstrates their cultural awareness, knowledge and competence. We believe it is one of the key ingredients a pupil will draw upon to be successful in school, society and the world of work. Cultural capital gives power. It helps children achieve goals, become successful, and rise-up the social ladder without necessarily having wealth or financial capital. Cultural capital is gaining knowledge that give children the desire to aspire and achieve social mobility whatever their starting point.
Ofsted define cultural capital as:
As part of making the judgement about the quality of education, inspectors will consider the extent to which schools are equipping pupils with the knowledge and cultural capital they need to succeed in life.
Our understanding of ‘knowledge and cultural capital’ is derived from the following wording in the national curriculum: ‘It is the essential knowledge that pupils need to be educated citizens, introducing them to the best that has been thought and said and helping to engender an appreciation of human creativity and achievement.’
Our curriculum is designed to instil ambitious aspirations for all our children and to encourage them to become resilient, curious learners who embrace challenges and continue to grow and develop their cultural capital. Throughout their journey at Stillness, our children will be provided with rich and engaging learning experiences across the curriculum, such as local parks, nature reserves and allotments to places of worship, museums, sports and music venues. We believe that exposure, not only to culture but also to opportunities in which the children might not have previous experiences of, is of paramount importance to their ongoing successes.
4. Memorable learning experiences
All year groups partake in a wide range of visits and workshops in addition to special curriculum days and weeks. Some examples include London History day, Climate change day, International day, Science week, Windrush workshop etc. We proactively look for opportunities to welcome parents and carers to take part in children’s learning and experiences. This includes parent workshops in addition to utilising the skills and expertise that our parents offer to further enhance the curriculum. These memorable learning experiences broaden their horizons and encourage them to tackle new challenges and be fearless of what is new or unknown.
5. Word power
We believe vocabulary size matters for all children to be successful. We want children to be well equipped with a wide range of vocabulary in order to be effective communicators who can speak with fluency and confidence. We promote adventurous vocabulary through our use of high quality texts that we share with the children.
Our full and rich curriculum, with its excellent range of experiences, ensures that every pupil here makes excellent progress both academically and personally. Pupils are encouraged to be ambitious and utilise their balanced range of skills and knowledge effectively, ensuring they are well prepared for the next stage of their education and beyond. To find out more about our curriculum, visit each individual subject.
